Sid's Log Part Two: 5/3/1

[Sid]

OK, so that is funny. But it also goes to tell you just how much messed up people see in the gym if they think GM's are squats. How receptive was he when you explained what you were doing?

james

He was sort of receptive, he stopped acting like a know-it-all at least once he saw that I knew what I was talking about. He said that he had heard of GMs before but "thought they were something you did on the back extension thing." He said he thought I was squatting because that's the depth he goes to when squatting. I do see a lot of people squatting only to GM-levels of depth in my gym - it seems every person I see squatting either goes full depth or stops REALLY short, no in-between. So that's not surprising. I told him that I squat past parallel but I didn't really get into it any further with him - he basically responded with "well it seems like you know what you're doing dude, sorry about that, squatting deep is too much strain on my knees though" and walked off. I was too tired to chase after him and explain that squatting deep is better for your knees.

'grats on the mod status james.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, Week 3, OHP day

OHP - 90x5, 105x3, 115x7
On the 115, lost my balance at the top of the first rep, so I had to bring it back down to rest and wasn't able to utilize stretch reflex. Probably could have gotten an 8th rep otherwise. 7 is good though.

Dips - 35
These were noticeably easier - I was able to do more reps per set.

Pullups - 15
A lot harder than chins. Nice to actually be able to do some of these now, though.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, Week 3, DL day

Feeling sick today. I got in and out quickly - just did the main DL work.

DL - 240x5, 270x3, 305x6
Lockout speed was noticeably better today.

Hopefully I'm not getting too sick and it doesn't slow me up.

[sgi4950]

I told him that I squat past parallel but I didn't really get into it any further with him - he basically responded with "well it seems like you know what you're doing dude, sorry about that, squatting deep is too much strain on my knees though" and walked off. I was too tired to chase after him and explain that squatting deep is better for your knees.

That's a good story. Funny how so many people think that proper squats will bother their knees. I for one am living testimony that squats can help the knees. Crappy knees most of my life, used to have discomfort most days, and now with squating deep - no knee pain.

Hope you're feeling better soon and can get back to your regular intensity of training.

[Sid]

Funny how so many people think that proper squats will bother their knees. I for one am living testimony that squats can help the knees. Crappy knees most of my life, used to have discomfort most days, and now with squating deep - no knee pain.

That's great that squatting deep has actually improved your knee health. It's stuff like this that makes me wonder how many people with pre-existing knee issues try to squat deep and stop because they think its bad for their knees, then proceed to do partial squats all the time thinking they're better for them and just end up messing their knees up more. I see plenty of guys in my gym partial squatting and then complaining about their knees afterward - they probably wouldn't be in so much discomfort if they just did some full squats.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, Week 3, Bench day

Surprisingly feeling pretty much 100% better today. I was fearing the worst, but it looks like I got over it quick, whatever it was.

Bench - 120x5, 140x3, 155x8
Pretty happy about that. 155x8 gives me a 12lb improvement on estimated 1RM since I ended SS. My bench still sucks but I'm actually starting to make some real progress on it now.

DB Bench - 45x5x8

DB Rows - 50x10,60x15,60x10

Cycle 1 almost over already - went by fast. Only squat day left, then deload week.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, Week 3, Squat day

Squat - 225x5, 255x3, 285x8
7 or more reps on every "1+" set this week. Nice

Front Squat - 135x4x10

GMs - 115x5(6?)x8
Lost track of the sets - I probably did 6.

Deload week on then on to cycle 2. Based on my high-rep numbers, cycle 1 has been pretty successful.

[atypical1]

Solid session. 285 * 8 is amazing. In theory that's a 360 1RM which is considerably higher than your current max. Good work!

james

[Sid]

Thanks james! Yeah, the squat and bench are the lifts I really seem to have nailed this cycle. Next cycle I really want to focus on the deadlift - I feel like it lagged behind my other lifts a bit during this cycle. Going from 1x5 to all this DL volume took a bit of getting used to.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, week 4 (deload), OHP day

OHP - 50x5,65x5,75x5
Going in and doing these kind of weights definitely required an ego check. I almost wanted to stick a sign on the rack saying "it's my deload week" to let people know I can press more than this. I resisted the temptation to throw some more weight on the bar for the last set

Dips-25 @BW
Pullups - 10 singles

The Bear - 65lbs 5x5. I've been meaning to try this for a while, so I did it today as my cardio. Pretty fun - it was definitely more intense than I expected.

[sgi4950]

Cycle 1, week 4 (deload), OHP day

OHP - 50x5,65x5,75x5
Going in and doing these kind of weights definitely required an ego check. I almost wanted to stick a sign on the rack saying "it's my deload week" to let people know I can press more than this. I resisted the temptation to throw some more weight on the bar for the last set

Ok, that's funny! Maybe you could get a T-Shirt that says "it's my deload week"...and you could break it out when you are moving heavy weight too...that would make people stop and look for sure.

Are you going to continue on with the Bear with each workout? If so, are you going to track time, add weight, or maybe both?

[atypical1]

Concur on the ego check. It's tough going in there and putting just a small amount of weight on the bar. But it will pay off in the long run.

I like the "deload week" shirt. But nobody would get it...

james

[Sid]

Cycle 1, week 4 (deload), OHP day

OHP - 50x5,65x5,75x5
Going in and doing these kind of weights definitely required an ego check. I almost wanted to stick a sign on the rack saying "it's my deload week" to let people know I can press more than this. I resisted the temptation to throw some more weight on the bar for the last set

Ok, that's funny! Maybe you could get a T-Shirt that says "it's my deload week"...and you could break it out when you are moving heavy weight too...that would make people stop and look for sure.

Hahaha, I like the t-shirt idea. I'd like to see people's reactions when I'm squatting 285 for 8 and wearing a shirt saying "it's my deload week.

Are you going to continue on with the Bear with each workout? If so, are you going to track time, add weight, or maybe both?

Probably both
I probably am going to continue with the bear for a while just to mix things up on the cardio angle a bit. I liked it.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, week 4 (deload), DL/bench day

Combined my deload for these two into one workout to save time.

DL - 135x5, 165x5, 195x5
So light...though it makes me realize how quickly I've gained strength. Wasn't that long ago that 195 was a PR weight for me.

Bench - 75x5, 85x5, 100x5
This just felt ridiculously easy. I attempted to make things interesting by launching the weight up as fast as I possibly could.

No assistance work.

Bear - 5x7 @ 65 lbs.

Another leisurely deload day.

[Sid]

Cycle 1, week 4 (deload), Squat day

Squat- 120x5, 150x5, 180x5
Front Squat 115x4x8
GMs - 115x3x8

Cycle 1 complete.